Stackable and indexable packing tray

ABSTRACT

A stackable, open-topped shipping and/or display container for shipping and displaying products having indexable projections for stacking a plurality of such containers, the indexable projections formed from cutouts within the indexing side wall flaps.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application is a Continuation in Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/495,147, filed Jul. 27, 2006, which claims thebenefit of priority under 35 USC §119(e) to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 60/702,879, filed Jul. 27, 2005. The present applicationfurther claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC §119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent Application 61/073,608, filed Jun. 18, 2008, which ishereby incorporated, in its entirety, herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to stackable, open-topped, shipping and/ordisplay container, and more particularly to a corrugated paperboard,stackable container having indexable projections for shipping anddisplaying products such as, for example, agricultural produce.

2. Background of the Invention

Containers made from corrugated paperboard are commonly used forshipping and storing various products, including agricultural produce.One preferred container includes a bottom wall, opposite sidewalls,opposite end walls, and an open top. Stacking tabs on the upper edges ofthe side and/or end walls engage in slots or openings in the bottom ofanother tray when the trays are stacked on top of one another to achievestacking stability. These trays offer good stacking strength andstability, and provide excellent product presentation due to the opentop, and the side panel surfaces that permit display of graphics and thelike. Further, recent improvements to these trays have included inwardlyinclined side or end panels with correspondingly inclined stacking tabsto provide greater resistance to nesting or telescoping of stackedtrays, and to allow units to be easily palletized.

Typically, these trays are formed from a single blank of corrugatedpaperboard scored with score lines or cut lines, and folded into afinished tray by automated machines or by hand. Machine forming can beaccomplished in a continuous in-line process involving cutting, scoringand folding the trays from continuous sheets of paperboard. In order toachieve a desired stacking strength in conventional produce trays,different weights (thicknesses) of material are used in the constructionof the tray.

Conventional produce trays have inner and outer side wall panels thatform square outer corners and angled or diagonal inner corners. Thediagonal inner corners extend into the tray interior space and limit toa certain extent the type, style or number of clamshell grape lugs, forexample, that can be placed in the tray.

It would be desirable to have a tray with the advantages of theconventional produce tray, but that utilizes less material in itsconstruction through further reduction in material in the indexing wallflap thus reducing the size of the blank. A final desirable objective isimproved production and runnability in manufacture of a tray.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a produce style tray with improved stackingstrength and increased interior space, while requiring less material tomake than prior art trays. The tray of the invention has inner and outerwall panels that form diagonal corners both inside and outside the tray.In one embodiment, the diagonal corner is single ply and is formed on anouter side wall panel, thus increasing the interior space of the traywhile maintaining the diagonal corner configuration, and in anotherembodiment the inner and outer wall panels each has diagonal cornerpanels, thus forming double ply diagonal corners. A plurality ofindexing stacking tabs are provided which extend above the transitionbetween the respective first and second transitions. Additionalembodiments are obviously contemplated and included in variations of thedisclosed embodiments.

The trays according to preferred embodiments of the invention are formedfrom blanks of corrugated paperboard cut and scored to form a bottompanel with an end wall panel foldably joined to opposite end edgesthereof. Opposite outer side wall panels are foldably joined to theopposite side edges of the bottom panel, and an inner side wall panel isfoldably joined to the outer or upper edge of each outer side wallpanel. A minor flap is foldably joined along a pair of spaced apart foldlines to each of the opposite ends of at least the outer side wallpanels. These minor flaps comprise sealing flaps that are securedrelative to respective end wall panels, and the spaced apart fold linesof each pair define between them diagonal corner panels in the erectedtray.

In one embodiment, diagonal corner panels are formed only in the outerside wall panels. Provision of the diagonal corner panels in the outerside wall panels moves the diagonal corner panels farther out relativeto the interior of the tray, thus increasing the interior space overthat available in conventional produce trays, wherein the diagonalcorner panels are formed on the inner wall panels. Additionally, theouter side wall panels may be devoid of minor flaps extending from theirends, reducing the amount of material required to produce the tray.

In another embodiment, minor flaps are foldably joined along pairs ofspaced apart fold lines to opposite ends of both the inner and outerside wall panels, forming diagonal corner panels on both the inner andouter side wall panels, resulting in double ply diagonal corners. Thisconstruction permits a lighter weight material to be used in forming thetray, while achieving the same strength as obtained in conventionaltrays that require a heavier weight material.

In both embodiments and other disclosed variations, at least the bottomedges of the minor flaps can extend at an acute angle relative to thebottom edges of the respective side wall panels, whereby when the panelsare folded to form an erected tray, the side walls are inwardlyinclined, or lean in at their top edge, thus defining a smallerfootprint at the top of the tray than at the bottom and helping toprevent an upper tray from telescoping or nesting into a lower tray whenthe trays are stacked on top of one another.

Additionally, the stacking tabs formed through cut-out portions on theupper edges of the side and/or end walls extend coplanar with therespective side and/or end wall, i.e., the stacking tabs are inwardlyinclined or lean in at the same angle as the respective side and/or endwall, and are adapted to be received in and captured by slots oropenings in the bottom of another tray. In some embodiments, thestacking or indexing tabs project upwardly from an upper edge of atleast one of the side walls and end walls wherein each of the indexingtabs is flanked on either side of the side walls (i) by a hingingtransition which involves said at least second fold line between a saidfirst side wall flap and a second wall flap, and (ii) further from eachhinging transition and the indexing tabs, there is upwardly exposed byboth side wall flaps cut edges of the blank, such cut edges beingtransverse to the flute run direction and being above the level of thehinging transition. The use of cuts on the indexing flaps provide ahinging region that skirt either side of the cuts and providepop-up-type indexing tabs. Depending on the form of a cut, the tabs areretained against the indexing wall upon setup and use. In oneembodiment, a single ply internal stack tab is formed. By reversing thedirection of the cut, an external, single-ply stack tab is formed. A“t”-shaped cut provides for a key portion that can be tucked in-betweenthe respective indexing flaps upon folding. A more straight line cutprovides for a straighter tab portion that can be folded upon itself anda portion glued or otherwise attached to the remaining tab portion orwell such that the tab projects above the transition of the indexingflaps.

In a preferred construction, bendable tongues project into thetab-receiving slots from one side thereof and help define a frictionlock mechanism to hold the stacking tabs in the slots.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing, as well as other objects and advantages of the invention,will become apparent from the following detailed description when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views, andwherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank for making a first embodiment of a trayin accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a blank for making a second embodiment of atray in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a blank for making a third embodiment of a trayin accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a tray according to the firstembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of a tray according to the secondembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a partial top-side perspective close up view of the tabstructure according to the third embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Like numerals used herein in reference to different embodiments refer tolike elements.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a blank 10 for producing a conventionalproduce tray has a bottom panel 11, outer side wall panels 12 and 13foldably joined along fold lines 14 and 15 to opposite side edges of thebottom panel, inner side wall panels 16 and 17 foldably joined to theouter or upper edge of the outer side wall panels, end wall panels 18and 19 foldably joined along fold lines 20 and 21 to opposite ends ofthe bottom panel, and locking roll-over panels 22 and 23 foldably joinedto the outer or upper edges of the end wall panels by spaced apart foldlines 2 and 4. Minor flaps 24 and 25 are foldably joined to oppositeends of each of the outer side wall panels along spaced apart fold lines6 and 8, and minor flaps 27 and 28 are foldably joined to opposite endsof each of the inner side wall panels along pairs of spaced apart foldlines 29 and 30.

The blank illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown for use in hand set-ups of theassembled container or tray made from the blank. Locking tabs projectfrom the free edge of the side panels, this free edge being the bottomedge in an erected tray. Locking tabs also project from one side edge ofthe minor flaps 27 and 28, and corresponding locking tabs 35 projectfrom one side edge of minor flaps 24 and 25. These side edges correspondto the bottom sides of the minor flaps in an erected tray. In addition,locking tabs 36 and 37 project from opposite ends of the free edge ofeach of roll-over panels 22 and 23. These locking tabs may or may not beomitted in machine set-up versions of this blank embodiment.

In the blank embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, cuts 100 are made in thematerial of the inner and outer side wall panels, on either side of thefold line between them, leaving connecting webs that form stacking orindexing tabs 47 and 49 in a tray erected from the blank. The directionof the cuts 100 and thus which side of the fold line is dictated as towhether the there is a preference for the stacking tabs 47, 49 to beformed on either the inner side panels 16,17 or outer side panels 12,13.Separating each of the minor/side panels are cuts which leaves hingingregions skirting on either side of the cuts that provide the indexingpop-up projection. As can be seen more outwardly of each hinging regionis an exposed cut face provided by (in the preferred form) both of theflaps.

Stacking tab-receiving openings 51 and 52 are formed in the bottom panelat opposite ends thereof adjacent to or contiguous with the fold lines20 and 21 for receiving the stacking tabs on a subjacent tray when thetrays are stacked on top of one another.

Slots or openings 38, 39 and 40 are provided in the bottom panel closelyadjacent to or contiguous with the respective fold lines 14 and 15, inpositions to receive the locking tabs 31, 32 and 33 when the panels arefolded into operative erected position, and similar but larger openings41 and 42 are formed in opposite ends of the bottom panel closelyadjacent to or contiguous with the fold lines 20 and 21, in positions toreceive the locking tabs 34, 35, 36 and 37 on the minor flaps and on theroll-over panels, respectively, when the tray is erected. These lockingtabs and slots function to hold the tray in its erected position.

Bendable tongues 53 project into the openings 51 and 52 from the sidethereof opposite the respective fold lines 14 and 15 and with theopenings and stacking tabs form a friction locking mechanism thatsecurely but releasably holds the stacking tabs in the openings. Crushedareas 54 may be formed in the material of the blank along the side ofthe openings 51 and 52 opposite the side from which the tongues project,to provide additional clearance for stacking tabs extended into theopenings.

Short relief cuts 60 preferably are made in the material of the blankalong opposite sides of all the other openings formed in the bottompanel, defining somewhat flexible or bendable tabs or tongues in each ofthese openings to facilitate insertion of the locking tabs into theopenings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, To erect a tray from a blank, the panels 16and 17 are folded upwardly and inwardly to lie against the respectivepanels 12 and 13, and these combined panels are folded upwardly aboutrespective fold lines 14 and 15 into an upright position, with thelocking tabs 31, 32 and 33 engaged in the slots 38, 39 and 40. The minorflaps 24, 25 and 27, 28 are then folded inwardly about their respectivefold lines 26 and 29, 30, and the end wall panels 18 and 19 are thenfolded upwardly against the minor flaps, followed by folding the lockingroll-over panels 22 and 23 inwardly and downwardly over the minor flaps,with the locking tabs 34, 35, 36 and 37 engaged in the openings 41 and42 and the minor flaps sandwiched between the end wall panels and theroll-over panels.

It will be noted that each of the minor flaps 24, 25, and 27, 28 extendat a slight acute angle relative to the length axis of the respectiveside wall panels, and the outermost fold line 29 of the pair of foldlines joining minor flaps 27 and 28 to their respective inner side wallpanels also is disposed at a corresponding angle. Accordingly, when thepanels are all folded into their operative erected positions, the sidewall panels are slightly inwardly inclined toward their upper edge.

It will also be noted that in example illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, theend wall panels 18 and 19 and the associated roll-over panels 22 and 23have less height than the side wall panels 12, 13 and 16, 17, and theminor flaps 24, 25, 27 and 28 have recessed areas or cut-outs 65, 66 intheir upper edges where the roll-over panel engages them. Thisconstruction provides a ventilation opening 70 in the upper edge of theend walls. The cut-outs 45 and 46, in addition to defining the stackingtabs, also provide ventilation openings 71 in the top edges of the sidewalls. Equal sized end wall panels and side wall panels may of course beused.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a second embodiment of a blank for making atray according to the invention. This blank differs from that previouslydisclosed in FIG. 1 in that the stacking tabs 147, 149 are formed bygenerally trapezoidal or rectangular cuts 155 that span from the outerside panels 12,13 through inner side panels 16,17 and the respectivefold lines between such panels. As can be seen, each stacking tab 147,149 is bisected and thus further comprises ascending portions 160, 164and descending portions 162, 166, respectively. Referring to FIG. 5,when the tray is erected by folding the panels of the blank into theiroperative positions, generally as discussed above, ascending portions160, 164, rise above the transition between the inner and outer panels.The descending portions 162, 166 are then fold down from the ascendingportions and into gaps 170 formed in the inner side walls through thecreation of the stacking tabs in the blank. The descending portions arethen adhered or otherwise attached to the inner surface of therespective outer side walls, as shown in FIG. 5. One will note that rollover panels 22 and 23 are not shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, but may be used inthis embodiment

The third embodiment of a blank for making a tray according to theinvention is illustrated in FIG. 3. This third embodiment is a variationof the second embodiment differs from that previously disclosed in FIG.2 in that the stacking tabs 247, 249 are formed by generally T-shapedcuts 255 that span from the outer side panels 12,13 through inner sidepanels 16,17 and the respective fold lines between such panels. As canbe seen, each stacking tab 147, 149 is bisected and thus furthercomprises ascending portions 260, 264 and descending and lockingportions 262, 266, respectively. Referring to FIG. 6, when the tray iserected by folding the panels of the blank into their operativepositions, generally as discussed above, ascending portions 260, 264,rise above the transition between the inner and outer panels. Thedescending portions 262, 266 are then fold down from the ascendingportions and into gaps 170 formed in the inner side walls through thecreation of the stacking tabs in the blank. The locking extensions 268of the descending portions inserted and retained between the inner andouter side panels, as shown in FIG. 6. One will again note that rollover panels 22 and 23 are not shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, but may be used inthis embodiment

The stacking tabs can be positioned on either the end panels or the sidepanels and either the side walls or the end walls can be inwardlyinclined. Further, the tray can be sized to be modular (half-sized orfull sized) to allow interlocking with other trays that have stackingtabs properly positioned. The tray also can be made in various sizes(footprints) to accommodate two tabs per side or end or one tab per sideor end.

The disclosed container also may have either a fully-lidded orpartially-lidded feature that allows ventilation and/or access of goodscontained therein to the consumer and protects the goods at the sametime while in transport and/or during stacking, as disclosed inco-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/495,147, having apublication number 2007/0051789

In other embodiments, the width of the side and end walls, as well asthe major and minor flaps may be smaller or larger than what isdescribed herein. If larger, then the inside space of the constructedtray/container/packaging system would increase in volume. One example ofsuch a conventional tray/container/packaging system is represented in USPublished Patent Application 2006-0091194 having U.S. Ser. No.11/303,898, filed Nov. 19, 2005, which is hereby incorporated, in theirentirety, herein by reference.

It should be noted that the walls (end or side) of the disclosedembodiments of the tray/container may contain more than one end paneland/or more than one minor flap panel and/or more than one major flappanel and/or more than one side wall panel folded therein, as well asany combinations thereof to form a multi-layered wall configuration. Themultilayered or multiwalled end wall may have at least two walls,preferably three or more. Further, portions of the walls may bemultiwalled, while other portions are single walled structures. Inaddition, the end walls may be longer and/or wider than the side walls.Further, end wall panels may be longer and/or wider than the side wallpanels. Further, the side walls may be longer and/or wider than the endwalls. Further, side wall panels may be longer and/or wider than the endwall panels. Accordingly, the relative length and width of the side andend walls may be of any relative length and width.

Further, while not required, it is preferred that theblank/tray/container have vent holes located therein. For example, atleast one vent hole can be located in a side wall of one embodiment of ablank according to the present invention, at least one vent hole can belocated in the side walls of one embodiment of a tray/containeraccording to the present invention. The location, position, size andgeometry of the vent hole within the blank/tray/container may varygreatly and in any manner so long as it does not destroy the operabilityof any one or more of the embodiments of the present invention

Pop up type indexing projection which extends above the transitionbetween the first and second indexing wall flaps in the erectedcontainer could alternatively be a different form such as that utilizedby a number of companies where an even greater cut out has part thereoffolded back and adhesively or otherwise reattached to some part of theindexing wall.

Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that scallops or the like canbe provided between the hinging regions and outwardly flanking cuts thatprovide the support regions. Such scallops are optional. In anotheralternative embodiment, the indexing lugs are provided at the lesserends and no provision is made for truncating of the corners. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate however, the provision of theindexing lugs and corresponding openings on either the greater or lessersides of the rectangular base does not dictate the form that must beused. Particularly with the end indexing forms, even one projection onlymay suffice per indexing wall.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, a shorter blank isachieved through the use of slits, rather than slices. It has been shownthrough empirical testing that the configuration of the disclosedinventive tray has at least the same strength as prior art trays, suchas the DEFOR® tray and improvements thereof as disclosed in U.S.application Ser. No. 10/818,460, Publication No. 2004/0256448, but withreduced blank size and thus fiber input. Blank size is typically reducedby 7% over prior art designs by creating the fold-over stacking tab fromthe external panel of the tray that folds to the inside when assembled.In the case of the design disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No.10/818,460, test results indicated up to a 20% increase in strength.Nonetheless, the teachings of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/818,460 areincorporated herein by reference.

It is noted that while the embodiments shown in the appended drawingsand described herein generally relate to either so-called hand setup andmachine setup versions of the disclosed containers and blanks, the useof locking tabs on hand set up version, or lack thereof on machine setup versions, are not intended to be limited to the particular designillustrated herein and such choice of the use of locking tabs depends onthe intended use and set-up of the container.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with reference toone or more preferred embodiments thereof, it is not the intention ofthe Applicants that the invention be restricted to such detail. Rather,it is the intention of the Applicants that the invention be defined byall equivalents, both suggested hereby and known to those of ordinaryskill in the art, of the preferred embodiments

1. A stackable tray formed from a blank, comprising a bottom wall;opposite side walls and opposite end walls positioned to define aninterior space; the side walls comprise an inner side wall panel and anouter side wall panel; and a flap is foldably joined along a pair ofspaced fold lines to opposite ends of at least each outer side wallpanel, said flaps being secured relative to a respective one of said endwalls and defining diagonal corners both inside and outside the tray;indexing tabs projecting upwardly from an upper edge of at least one ofthe side walls wherein each of the indexing tabs is formed from a cutout portion in the blank in either one of the inner or outer side wallpanels whereby when erected, the indexing tabs are above a transitionbetween the inner and outer side wall panels; wherein, openings areformed in the bottom wall for receiving the indexing tabs when the traysare stacked on top of one another.
 2. The stackable tray of claim 1wherein each of the indexing tabs is formed from a cut out portion inthe blank in one of the inner or outer side wall panels from a fold linebetween and forming a transition from the inner and outer side wallpanels into said opposing side wall panel.
 3. The stackable tray ofclaim 2 wherein, said indexing tab cut-out portion spans from thetransition fold between the outer and inner side wall panels into saidinner sidewall panel, whereby the stacking tab is contiguous with saidouter side wall panel.
 4. The stackable tray of claim 2 wherein, saidindexing tab cut-out portion spans from the transition fold between theinner and inner side wall panels into said outer sidewall panel, wherebythe stacking tab is contiguous with said inner side wall panel.
 5. Thestackable tray of claim 2, wherein each of the indexing tabs is formedfrom a cut-out portion of the blank spanning from the outer side panelinto the inner side panel and through said fold line between therespective panels.
 6. The stackable tray of claim 2, wherein the cut-outindexing tabs further comprise a horizontal fold bisecting each tab intoascending and descending portions, whereby upon assembly of the tray,the ascending portions rise above the transition between the inner andouter panels and the descending portion fold down about the fold andinto a gap formed in the inner sidewall by the cut-out and thedescending portion is attached to an inner surface of the outer sidewall.
 7. The stackable tray of claim 6 wherein the cut out indexing tabsare formed from a generally trapezoidal shaped cut.
 8. The stackabletray of claim 2, wherein the cut-out indexing tabs further comprise ahorizontal fold bisecting each tab into ascending and descendingportions and said descending portion has a plurality of lockingportions, whereby upon assembly of the tray, the ascending portions riseabove the transition between the inner and outer panels and thedescending portion fold down about the fold and into a gap formed in theinner sidewall by the cut-out whereby the locking tabs of the descendingportion are inserted into the gap and frictionally retained between theinner surfaces of the outer and inner side walls.
 9. The stackable trayof claim 1 further comprising a lid extending from at least one of saidend walls, said lid being foldable relative to said one or more endwalls so as to be moveable between an open position and a closedposition, wherein said lid at least partially covers said interior spacewhen in said closed position.
 10. The stackable tray of claim 1 whereinthe indexing tabs project upwardly from an upper edge of at least one ofthe side walls and end walls and wherein each of the indexing tabs isflanked on either side of the side walls (i) by a hinging transitionwhich involves said at least second fold line between a said first sidewall flap and a second wall flap, and (ii) further from each hingingtransition and the indexing tabs, there is upwardly exposed by a sidewall flaps cut edge for each sidewall formed by the blank, such cutedges being transverse to the flute run direction and being above thelevel of the hinging transition.
 11. A container formed from a blank,the container comprising: a base portion have a plurality of openings;non-indexing wall flaps extending from two opposing sides of the base;first and second opposing indexing wall flaps extending from two sidesof the base adjacent from said non-indexing wall flaps and connected tosaid base by a fold line; third and forth indexing wall flaps attachedto the first and second respective indexing wall flaps by a fold lineforming a wall flap sequence; extension flaps foldably joined along apair of spaced fold lines to opposite ends of at least one pair of saidfirst and second and said third and fourth indexing wall flaps, saidflaps being secured relative to a respective one of said end walls anddefining diagonal corners both inside and outside the tray; and above atransition between each associated first and third and second and fourthindexing wall flaps of a wall flap sequence, at least one indexingprojection is defined from a cutout portion in the blank within each ofan opposing first and second or third and fourth indexing flap pair,wherein, the openings receive the indexing projections of anothercontainer when the containers are stacked on top of one another.
 12. Thecontainer of claim 11, wherein the openings on bottom of the containerfurther comprising bendable, locking tongues.